A Single Smile
by Inverse of Disaster
Summary: All she wanted was just one smile from the girl, but, of course. That was never enough, was it? Not for Zoey, at least... Oneshot, slight Appealshipping.


** A Single Smile **

* * *

**pairings: Zoey x Dawn (Appealshipping), and I guess Brock x random Jenny, but I threw that in for fun, it's nothing serious.**

Zoey had been troubled lately. Of course, this particular breed of trouble was nothing life-threatening or soul-wrecking, but, nevertheless, this particular issue had a habit of lurking around Zoey's mind. Just when she thought she had finally put it out-there it was again. When she was in that twilit state of mind between being asleep and being awake-the problem boggled her mind again. And this henceforth happened, for several nights.

The issue was…Dawn's smile. Ever since the first time she had met the girl, and the first time she'd seen the girl's smile, Zoey hadn't felt quite settled since. She wanted more of these smiles. Of course, it wasn't just the smiles she wanted, but those thoughts were some of the thoughts that Zoey tended to push to the back of her mind, along with the issue of that slightly _troubling_ boy with fluffy shoulder-length auburn hair. There was just something _off_ about him, though Zoey hadn't a clue what it was.

…Then again, Zoey had never seen Kenny talk to Dawn.

Zoey wasn't dense (unlike a certain frizzy raven-haired friend of Dawn's); Zoey knew full well what these feelings would probably result in. Obvious, senseless drama, and eventual rejection. Or perhaps, that was a pessimistic side of Zoey-she always had a tendency to overthink and overanalyze (once again, unlike Dawn's said certain frizzy raven-haired friend).

But, all that Zoey wanted to see was Dawn's smile. Although, this was mostly a fabricated lie to herself, as Zoey knew that once she could attain a smile at will, she would henceforth move on to much further things, eventually causing—

…Zoey really did overanalyze things. She really, really did. All she wanted was a simple smile—

--although that was just a white lie—

…though Zoey did enjoy Dawn's smiles, so it's not like it was really untrue.

* * *

But Dawn and Zoey seemed to frequently cross paths, which seemed to keep Zoey more at bay (or maybe it subliminally made her want Dawn even _more_), and today was, apparently, one of those lucky days where Zoey would happen upon Dawn and her friends.

"Zoey! Zooey!" Before Zoey could really say anything of significance, the blunette had run up to Zoey and given her a hug that was rather closer to a tackle. In any case, the two of them both tumbled to the ground in a rather unceremonious fashion, leaving Ash and Brock to probably get confused over what happened. Well, perhaps not Brock, as Brock had common sense…well, _most_ of the time.

Dawn sprung up, the smile on her face looking…relatively embarrassed, slightly exasperated…and…a little worried? She then offered Zoey a hand, while remarking, "Oops! I'm sorry, Zoey! I probably shouldn't have ran at you like that…Your ankle isn't hurt again, is it?"

Zoey shook her head while taking Dawn's hand, so as to hoist herself back up; her ankle was feeling fine, but the rest of her had been _quite_ shaken at the rather…gratuitous view up Dawn's skirt. That skirt was always a bit too short, which made Zoey sometimes wonder how Dawn could even get from Point A to Point B without being a walking pantyshot, or how Brock didn't end up hitting on her in his more desperate times.

…Then again, for Brock, it seemed that every day he spent without a woman at his side was desperate.

…Zoey could've sworn she heard Brock actually say something like that. Dear lord, that boy was _really_ desperate.

And then there was Ash, who was about as dense as lead. At least they complemented each other well enough…and they were reliable travel companions, Zoey had to admit, despite the fact that Dawn and Ash sometimes seemed to be almost _too_ good of friends. But it didn't bother her too much, because…well, being attracted to girls herself, Zoey had a certain…knack for calling out those who weren't quite as straight as everyone thought. Particularly the male ones…

…But, matters of Ash's sexuality were totally not important. No, what was more important, in Zoey's mind, was the beautiful blunette girl right alongside her. That adorable blunette.

Dawn noticed Zoey'd been quiet for a while, so she inquired, "Hey, Zoey? Is something wrong?"

Zoey replied with, "Ehh…nah, I'm fine. Anyways, Dawn, about your appeals…", and then engaged in a wonderful, yet lengthy discussion about Dawn's Ambipom and successful uses of the Swift Attack, and of the possible combinations Dawn could use during Double Appeals, and other Contest-related stuff that, for the most part, went completely over Brock and Ash's heads.

…Zoey had long since gotten that happy smile; and even received a complementary tackle-hug, but, as she thought, she wanted more. Hmm…Fate had a cruel way of making her want more than she really deserved, didn't it?

After a while of more talking, Dawn fell silent, still brooding over her more recent losses in the Appeal rounds. Zoey then, somewhat against her better judgment, pulled Dawn into an embrace. (Well, Dawn HAD done the same to her earlier, even though it was a much more…violent hug).

"…Hey, Dawn. Don't worry about the appeals – I know you'll improve; you just have to think a little bit more about your technique. But…you can definitely do it. I know that you're trying your hardest right now, so you'll just have to try and change what's holding you back, and keep at it, 'kay?"

Dawn, clearly not in any hurry to leave the embrace, said, "…I know. Too many people are counting on me! No need to worry, I'll be just fine!"

After a little while more of needless hugging and cuddling, which Zoey liked more than any girl probably should've, Dawn eventually pulled away, and smiled at Zoey, "There's no need to worry, Zoey..."

…although, what had happened to Brock and Ash? It seemed like those two suddenly just faded into the backgr—wait, where were they? Screw fading into the background, they just weren't there at all!

…although it hadn't occurred to either Dawn or Zoey that Brock and Ash just wanted to give the two girls some alone time. Either that, or they'd gotten so bored of the Contest discussions that they veered off in their own direction, although Dawn didn't really have much of a problem finding either of the two.

But, now it was time for Zoey to be taking her leave, and for her and Dawn's intertwined paths to eventually disentangle, if only for a while. Yet, as she saw Dawn's smile, even in the distance…she knew that she didn't regret anything, even after everything fell to the ground, as things seemed to have a certain habit of doing.

…and maybe, just _maybe_, she had a chance after all...

* * *

Later that night, Dawn, Ash, and Brock were setting up camp, as they usually did. Actually, if someone took out the words of the particular conversation the three were having, the sight looked about the same every day; even the abnormally forested areas in places that weren't quite so…forested, for lack of a better term.

But, unlike those days, this conversation seemed to be quite interesting.

"Where were you two anyways? Geez, Zoey and I could've lost you both! Don't be so careless from now on, okay?"

The crabby-looking frizzy-haired boy retorted, "Hey, is it really _my_ fault that a Jenny happened to be passing by on her motorcycle, and Brock dragged me along with him while he was trying to run to catch up to her? You know how he gets! With the hearts in his eyes, and all that! But really, he almost _did_ make it…Pikachu shocked him, though, which I'm really relieved about, 'cause otherwise I might not even have an arm now."

And yet, Dawn could picture the exact scene playing out in her head, coupled with the occasional, intermittent cries of "I'm coming to rescue you and we can go on a romantic rendezvous, Jenny!" and "Let _go_ of me, Brock! She doesn't even see you! My arm really, really hurts!".

Although, in the back of her head, Dawn was glad for all of this too…even though she couldn't really put her finger on why.

Dawn then said, "…do tell, what did she do?"

And, at the end of the day, it wasn't just Zoey dreaming of Dawn, but the other way around, as well, and in these dreams, Zoey and Dawn were giving each other just a bit more than simple smiles. Just a _little_ bit more.

* * *

**lol finished?**

**Like it? Hate it? Got any suggestions? The review box is your friend.**

And I'm happy, I finally wrote Appealshipping. Yay! I've wanted to write it for like forever, so yeah. But, I wrote this a while ago, and am just posting it now, so it might not be totally up to par...

Well, either way, I'm still practicing. 8D Next, I'll either update Shadows on the Horizon, or write a SapphirePearlshipping fic (Wallace Cup made me fall in love with that pairing too...y'know, the way all three of them were together like that kinda makes me think...)

Oh, well. Read and review, because I like reviews.


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